Det Chief Insp Andy Redwood, who is leading the UK police hunt for the missing little girl, said his team was sifting through around 40,000 pieces of information with the sole aim of solving the case.

Madeleine was nearly four when she went missing from her family's holiday flat in Praia da Luz in the Algarve almost five years ago, on May 3 2007, as her parents Kate and Gerry McCann dined with friends nearby.

The official inquiry was formally shelved in July 2008 but Scotland Yard’s review of the case, called Operation Grange, was launched last year at the request of Theresa May, the Home Secretary, in response to a plea from the McCanns.

DCI Redwood said his team of 28 detectives and seven civilian staff was in the process of turning over “every single piece of paper” generated in the investigation and interpreting and analysing everything they contained.

He said: “Anything is possible, and clearly, within that material, the answer could lie."

The team is drawing together information from three separate sources: Portuguese legal enforcement bodies, British legal enforcement agencies, which include the police, and the private investigations commissioned by Madeleine’s parents.

Asked why he believed the operation was unique, DCI Redwood told BBC Panorama: “Because at no time before have those three elements been drawn together in one place. And so what we’ve done over the past number of months is to bring to one place all those pieces of the jigsaw.”

He added: “I am satisfied that the systems and processes that we are bringing to this set of circumstances will give us the best opportunity to find those investigative opportunities that we can then present to our colleagues in Portugal.”

Operation Grange has so far cost the tax payer £2 million. Officers have made two trips to Spain and visited Portugal four times, most recently last week.

But while Portuguese police remain the lead agency on the case, DCI Redwood said his team in London aimed to solve the mystery.

“We are here in terms of seeking to bring closure to the case,” he said. “That would be the ultimate objective and is our ultimate objective. Closure means establishing what has happened to Madeleine McCann.”

Goncalo Amaral, the former detective who lead the original case before being removed after criticising British involvement, admitted making mistakes.

“It’s a fact that our investigation had its faults and lost a lot of time, lots of time,” he told the programme. “And a lot of things didn’t get followed up. And I’m just as much to blame for that as anyone else.”

Since leaving the police in 2008, Amaral has written a book and presented a DVD about Madeleine’s disappearance, in which he makes allegations against her parents, Mr and Mrs McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire, who are now suing him for libel.

In March, a new team of detectives from Porto, northern Portugal, was brought in to re-examine the case, which the McCanns' Portuguese lawyer Rogerio Alves described as a "very positive sign".

The latest alleged sighting of Madeleine was made earlier this month in the Costa del Sol.

BBC Panorama – Madeleine: The Last Hope? will be shown on Wednesday April 25 at 7.30pm on BBC One.

DCI Redwood said his team of 28 detectives and seven civilian staff was in the process of turning over “every single piece of paper” generated in the investigation and interpreting and analysing everything they contained. He said: “Anything is possible, and clearly, within that material, the answer could lie."

Goncalo Amaral, the former detective who lead the original case before being removed after criticising British involvement, admitted making mistakes.

“It’s a fact that our investigation had its faults and lost a lot of time, lots of time,” he told the programme. “And a lot of things didn’t get followed up. And I’m just as much to blame for that as anyone else.”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________"You can run on for a long time, Run on for a long time, Run on for a long time, Sooner or later God'll cut you down." (Johnny Cash)

Well I think a word of caution might be in order. Just becasue Mr Amaral has spoken to the programme's researchers doesn't mean that he will be actually appearing on it. Or even that the information he gave will be featured on the programme. I still think it will say absolutely nothing and be a complete waste of time. But then I'm not always right!!

lol the ugly moronic blue forum is already bragging that GA admitted he may have made mistakes wlel so what police officers are NOT perfect they are human like everybody else i bet if they were in need of police they would beg for their help hypocrites

MaryB wrote:Well I think a word of caution might be in order. Just becasue Mr Amaral has spoken to the programme's researchers doesn't mean that he will be actually appearing on it. Or even that the information he gave will be featured on the programme. I still think it will say absolutely nothing and be a complete waste of time. But then I'm not always right!!

I'm ultra cautious, and with you MaryB.

Why would Scotland Yard even touch anything collected by the McCanns own, private dicks??? Good grief, what an abuse of taxpayers money. I've never heard of anything so suspicious. Also we have to see how Amaral is portrayed.

Dotting the 'i's' and crossing the 't's' and the beginnings of the white wash (imo). I would bet money on it.

Still, it's lovely to see Amaral spoken of in a respectful manner for once in the UK!

Last edited by pennylane on Tue 24 Apr - 16:21; edited 1 time in total

“It’s a fact that our investigation had its faults and lost a lot of time, lots of time,” he told the programme. “And a lot of things didn’t get followed up. And I’m just as much to blame for that as anyone else.”

Lost a lot of time?? For what? They took great mesures at the beginning, roads closed, search, etc.. it was all about the abduction theory. So they didn't loose time for that..

So we are left with what?? Maybe that they «lost a lot of time» before suspecting the parent, and by their mistakes, forensics + evidence were impossible to collect, damaged, etc..

Maybe..

But just the fact that GA was given the right to speak on BBC, it's huge IMO

Sounds promising to me,the only time Amarals investigation lost was as Maive said regarding the Mccanns & friends & Redwood is saying the answer lies in the files which do not have an abductor in there,which leaves us with tapas for breakfast, dinner & tea...haul them in before panorama starts

“It’s a fact that our investigation had its faults and lost a lot of time, lots of time,” he told the programme. “And a lot of things didn’t get followed up. And I’m just as much to blame for that as anyone else.”

Lost a lot of time?? For what? They took great mesures at the beginning, roads closed, search, etc.. it was all about the abduction theory. So they didn't loose time for that..

So we are left with what?? Maybe that they «lost a lot of time» before suspecting the parent, and by their mistakes, forensics + evidence were impossible to collect, damaged, etc..

Maybe..

But just the fact that GA was given the right to speak on BBC, it's huge IMO

Yes it is huge. Interestingly 'cherry picked' quote from Amaral methinks..... for sure the loss of time Amaral was talking about was not re an abduction, but rather an arrest.

Hopefully BEEB have some fences to mend where Dr Amaral is concerned and will treat him with respect. He certainly deserves a proper chance to state his case in the UK and be heard, without the pink pimp getting his sleazy journalist friends to disparage him and throw xenophobic remarks his way.

We will have to see, but I remain sceptical as to DCI Redwood's role and Scotland Yards aims, since the review is funded by the Home Office. A nice tidy circle ready to sew it up neatly imo.

The detective leading the UK review of Madeleine McCann's disappearance says they have the "best opportunity" yet to find the missing girl.

Det Ch Insp Andy Redwood told the BBC's Panorama his team were "seeking to bring closure to the case".

Madeleine, aged five at the time, went missing from a Portuguese holiday apartment five years ago this week.

The UK review began last May after Prime Minister David Cameron responded to a plea from Madeleine's parents.

Richard Bilton presents Panorama - Madeleine: The Last Hope? on Wednesday 25th April on BBC One at 7.30pm. Catch up after broadcast using the link below

BBC Panorama - Madeleine: The Last Hope?

DCI Redwood told Panorama, his first interview since taking on the role, that solving Madeleine's disappearance is "the ultimate objective and is our ultimate objective".

His team of 28 detectives and seven civilian support staff are working their way through an estimated 40,000 pieces of information, including reports and documents from UK police, Portuguese police and private detectives hired by the McCanns.

He said one major advantage for Operation Grange is that for the first time it has access to all of the available evidence all in one place.

"At no time before have those three elements been drawn together in one place. And so what we've done over the past number of months is to bring to one place all those pieces of the jigsaw."

DCI Redwood believes the case could be solved by reappraising the documentary evidence.

"Clearly within that material, the answer could lie," he said.No hostility

Officers have made two trips to Spain and visited Portugal four times, most recently last week.

A review of the procedures followed in the investigation is also under way in Portugal.

It is being conducted by officers in Porto, in northern Portugal, far away from the Algarve where Madeleine went missing.Det Ch Insp Andy Redwood Det Ch Insp Andy Redwood is in charge of Operation Grange, which is based at Belgravia police station

Portuguese public opinion has not been supportive of the parents of Madeleine, but DCI Redwood said he is finding no hostility from the Portuguese review team.

"Those officers are engaged, they are open, they are working with us collaboratively and I've not encountered with them any of those views."

But he said if the case is to be reopened, it is up to the Portuguese police.

"It is a sovereign decision for the Portuguese authorities. But obviously what we seek to do is to bring them the best quality information to assist them in making that decision."http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17828015